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Plaid Cymru's Ben Lake is the youngest Welsh MP

From Press Officer to the youngest MP in Wales, Ben Lake saw his win for Plaid Cymru in Ceredigion wipe the only remaining Liberal Democrat MP from Wales.

At just 24, Ben pulled off one of the surprise results of the night - winning back the seat Plaid Cymru had lost to the Lib Dems back in 2005 by just 104 votes. Receiving 11,623 votes, Ben beat MP Mark Williams 11,519 votes.

Originally from Lampeter, Ben attended Lampeter Comprehensive School before going on to study history at Oxford University. This was followed by employment as a press officer for Ceredigion AM Elin Jones before going on to work in the National Assembly.

Within quick succession of being named as a Plaid Cymru candidate in April, Ben Lake has now become one of the youngest MPs in Parliament - an unexpected victory he says:

When we started the campaign we were hoping to get a good result, we were hoping to stay close, perhaps run them a bit closer but to actually win - no we weren't expecting it so the overall result is very unexpected.

– Ben Lake MP, Plaid, Ceredigion

Despite his surprise at being elected, Ben hopes to use his age to his advantage, particularly on issues such as the effects of Brexit on rural areas.

For rural areas like Ceredigion Brexit's going to be huge. We need to make sure our rural economy, our farmers, and our higher education sector, are considered in those negotiations.I relish the chance to be one of those younger voices and to bring a different perspective to things.